Inside the tedious effort to tally AI’s energy appetite
1 min read
Summary
A story by Casey Crownhart and Cade Metz suggests that AI’s energy requirements are much greater than expected.
While using a chatbot or generative image uses a small amount of energy, the creation of videos using AI consumes a much greater amount, a high-definition video requiring enough energy to power a microwave for over an hour.
It is thought that reasoning models and AI devices will significantly increase the industry’s energy requirements, with AI hardware devices constantly running in the background of conversations likely to require a lot of power.
The story highlights the lack of transparency from AI companies on their future energy demands, while also noting that global forces and issues, such as the use of natural gas to power data centres, are likely to have a larger individual carbon footprint.